Lessons from Luke

Our May theme for the Today devotions, written by Dr. Reggie Smith, will be “Lessons from Luke.”

I love old pictures. Maybe you have albums filled with old snapshots from your childhood, or historical photos of your ancestors. Or maybe you  have albums highlighting your children’s birth, childhood, and more. And beyond albums, now photos are stored digitally—on computers and phones—and we share them readily on Facebook or other social media venues.

My cousins and I have swapped a few pictures online of our parents when they themselves were children. It’s fascinating to glimpse grandparents when they were still children, yet it’s part of our story. We’ve begun putting our paper albums online so generations can share and remember  who we are and where we come from.

The Gospel of Luke also provides photos—photos of Jesus’ birth, a little glimpse of his childhood, and then more detailed photos of his ministry, ending with his suffering, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.

In May we dig deeply into the first six chapters of Luke’s Gospel, highlighting Jesus’ birth and early ministry.

Reggie Smith is going to help us meet the people in these chapters. He has pastored churches in Michigan, New Jersey, and Illinois. Currently, he and his wife Sharon live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he is launching a coaching ministry for churches.

This month, he will introduce us to some well-known—and some “not-so-well-known” characters in Jesus’ life. We’ll read about Zachariah and Elizabeth and their famous son, John the Baptizer. We’ll see Mary, Jesus’ mother, and Joseph, his earthly father. We’ll encounter some of Jesus’ disciples—men who would follow Jesus closely throughout his earthly ministry. And most importantly, we’ll meet Jesus in every chapter.

Reggie told us that he wants us to “stretch our heart and mind muscles” in how we meet Jesus this month. The world has changed, he says, and the ways Jesus shows up in our lives has changed, but Jesus never changes. And we still meet Jesus in Luke’s gospel.

If you’re interested in hearing more of Reggie’s thoughts as he wrote this Today, I encourage you to listen to this brief audio interview. You can hear from Reggie directly.

May you be refreshed, refocused, and renewed in God’s Word.